For more than half a century, some of the most legendary musicians and celebrities have strolled through Scottsdale’s Handlebar J.
Some were chart toppers like Lee Anne Womack and Jason Aldean, who craved the venue’s authentic personality and wanted to soak up live performances in a low-key setting where they could enjoy a bite and sip without fuss.
Others such as Lyle Lovett, Vince Gill, Toby Keith, Kiefer Sutherland, and Kris Kristofferson were customers and performers who sat in with the house band. Waylon Jennings played here in its earliest years—even before it was known as Handlebar J—and James Hetfield, guitarist and co-founder of Metallica, took the stage once, as well.
And movie stars past and present, including Buster Crabbe, Dick Van Dyke, Matthew McConaughey, and Jimmy Fallon have been drawn to the bar’s unique mélange of Arizona history and Southwest charm.
This kind of clientele have made Handlebar J the in vogue place to be to celebrate country music in the desert.
A mural on the west side wall reads, “Welcome to North Scottsdale,” a nod to its past when Phoenix was not the sprawling metropolis it is today. Each letter is a likeness drawing of some of these stars who have been in over the years, paying respects to the legendary establishment that kept the city buzzing even if it meant doing it solo.
“Back then, Handlebar J was considered out in the sticks … nothing around us for miles,” owner Ray Herndon, 64, recalls. “It’s an iconic wall now.”
Herndon’s connection with Handlebar J began when he was 7 and his mother worked as a server and his father was the singer and bass player for the house band. Since opening in the early 1960s, the venue underwent a couple of ownership changes and a name change from its original Wild Bill’s.
Herndon’s parents Brick and Gwen purchased the establishment from the previous owners in 1975. Herndon, a professional country music artist known for being a key member of groups such as Lyle Lovett’s Large Band and McBride & the Ride, took on a more official and steadier role at the bar in 1986, when he and his brother Ron formed the house band The Herndon Brothers.
This proved to be a turning point that drew guests anxious to dust off their boots, sneakers, sandals, and pumps and get in.
“The crowd got much younger, louder, and it had more of a club atmosphere,” Herndon says. “It became the place to go. There were lines to get in.”
In fact, Herndon is a reason why many country stars swing by when they’re in town, either to enjoy the restaurant’s signature ribs and flame-grilled Angus beef burgers, get up and play to the crowd, or all of the above.
Herndon was also key in SiriusXM’s decision to debut its Outlaw Country channel at Handlebar J in 2004. The previous year, Herndon and Jessi Colter, country singer and Waylon Jennings’ widow, collaborated on a tribute to Jennings at Handlebar J called “The Outlaw Connection” that drew country music stars, including Colter and Jennings’ son Shooter. The next year, the tribute caught the attention of SiriusXM, which chose the event and venue to launch the channel with Herndon and Colter co-hosting that show with "Little Steven" Van Zandt, the creator and programmer of Outlaw Country.
After his parents passed away, Herndon took over full ownership of Handlebar J.
Today, Herndon maintains the integrity of the bar while adapting it to contemporary times. Adding more high-top tables to cater to live musicgoers, bringing in different genres of music, and other aesthetic touches are among the ways he’s accomplished this.
When asked why Handlebar J has stood the test of time, Herndon mentions many reasons that span the bar’s history to the talent that has graced the stage over the decades. However, the appeal lies in something less tangential.
“Handlebar J is where Western hospitality is always a tradition and we’ve tried to keep that culture. That's what we strive for on a daily basis,” Herndon says. “It’s about keeping what we have alive. It’s a diamond that’s gone a little bit unseen … a diamond in the rough that’s been in front of people’s eyes, but they don’t see it sometimes.”